This commitment to deepening conversations lies at the heart of Skynamo’s team-focused culture.
This document shares a bit about this, what we believe and how we:
- Believe in, and support, radical self-direction
- Openly share information and willingly receive feedback
- Create opportunities to get to know each other inside and outside of work
- Work to create an environment of belonging, where it’s safe to experiment, explore and fail
- Risk silliness. (Because it’s more fun this way.)
Our team culture rests on our five values: What we believe is important
These are real - not put a poster in your office entrance real - but properly real. We seek to live them out every day. And when we don’t, we expect to be called on our bullshit by our team mates.
Self-direction: We only hire smart people.
People who are good at what they do and can think for themselves.
Once you know the job that needs to be done, we get out of your way and let you do it how you see fit. If you want to be told what to do, join our Crossfit or pilates class every Wednesday.
Honesty: No BS.
No political agendas. No covering up.
We all make mistakes, we have our good days and bad days. (See “Humility”) Honesty builds the trust and the collaborative working environment required to work as a team and achieve our vision.
Humility
There’s no room for self-importance here. No one is too good for any task.
Advice and ideas can come from anyone. Be willing to listen. Be willing to admit to mistakes. (See “Honesty”) And don’t take yourself too seriously. Because if you do, we won’t.
Kindness: Don’t be a poephol.
Care for each other.
We are compassionate and help each other when one of us is struggling. Kindness is what makes us more than a team. It makes us a family. And like with families, although we often tease each other, this is always done with genuine respect for each other and in an inclusive nature.
Reliability: Don’t be sh*t.
Do what you say you’re going to do.
Commit, work hard and pull your own weight. This is how we build a team. This is how we build a successful business. Don’t let us down. But if you do, see “Humility” and “Kindness” and then make up for it.
What you can expect from us: How we behave
These values inform our ways of being, and when we consciously apply them there are certain behaviours you can expect to see in the individuals who work here, how the teams interact and how the company moves as a whole.
1. We are self-directed.
This doesn’t mean we are a bunch of loose cannons operating on whim and ego. It means that Skynamo wants us to bring the full force of our intellect, ability and passion to our work and allow that to move us towards the common goal and good.
- Network-business structure - need more detail here.
- Conversation and data-driven decision making - actively listen to, provide and engage in feedback
- Mentorship and team structures designed to support self-direction
- We aren’t here for the free food and Wi-Fi - we are here because it’s worthwhile for us, and for our clients. If it isn’t - we make the necessary changes.
- We are reliable and accountable for our actions and our promises. We take responsibility for ourselves and take our impact on our colleagues and customers seriously.
2. We work together for the common goal, and good
Follow the principle of ‘disagree and commit’. All pull towards the same company goals and team objectives
3. We believe everyone is doing their best.
We trust our colleagues to do and bring the best they can. If things aren’t working we assume that there is a good reason, rather than malicious intent or laziness, behind the action and seek to find out how we can help
4. We say what we mean, mean what we say, and don't say it mean.
We believe in honesty, but deliver it with kindness and humility. We don’t run over our colleagues with truths. We are direct in our conversations.
5. We hang out.
- We don’t want our people to live at work - but we do want them to be fully alive every moment they are here so we find ways to socialize and get to know each other from pilates and crossfit to braais and Friday drinks to daily lunches and end of year getaways.
- We like who we work with and assume that if we don’t, we just haven't gotten to know them yet
7. We talk it out.
- Speak up - if you disagree let it be known
- Actively Listen - we employ smart committed people. It’s unlikely the person disagreeing with you is doing it because they are being difficult or haven’t thought about it properly. There is a big learning here - listen till the end.
- Keep talking until it’s complete - even if that takes a few days of conversation. Keep going until there is a sense of completion in the conversation and we can either come to a shared understanding or ‘disagree and commit’
- Refer to ‘everyone is doing their best’
8. We are curious
- We look for opportunities to learn
- We ask questions of ourselves, our product and our world
- We experiment and explore
- We risk failure
- We follow our curiosity, even when we aren’t sure where it will take us.
9. We can be silly, while being deadly serious in our pursuit of better software, better sales and better company performance.
- Unicorn slippers, The Profitability Cape, Skylar, An actual humidor for social company events - There is a lot of fun, light silliness here.
- If it’s not fun, we are doing it wrong.
Skynamo is tackling a very complex problem - how to help people have better sales conversations. Its doing it by providing as much autonomy as possible to its people and it pays attention to the finer details of remuneration and reward.